Avg - Threat Or Menace?

[JSixpack]

Always found antivirus to cause more trouble than it solved.

Back when I used windows I normally relied on common sense to avoid running untrustworthy files.

Autorun on USB drives always disabled.

Backed up by the ability to spot and manually remove the occasional thing that did come along.

Now on linux so the threat is minimal and OS fundamentally much more secure.

Panda USB Vaccine isn't a bad option as well. Even if you aren't infecting them, it's a great way of neutering them.

As for AV, yes you can do without it if you really want to, but there isn't much reason not to on a decent PC when it's free.

Giving up .05% of my performance for A/V is not a hard price compared to the time lost if infected.

Nice precise figure you've arrived at. You could in fact measure it.

Antivirs are hardly any guarantee against infection. If you were infected, you'd have to do a scan with, usually, Malwarebytes or Dr. Web Cureit, to get rid of it. First obstacle would be to get past the virus to download Malwarebytes or get to an online scanner.

I love squashing a virus! It amazes me how stupid some of them are.

It really depends on how much else you have running on your computer and how intrusive is the antivir. If it's checking your email and your browsing as well, then the hit's bigger. And you can't open your download until it's scanned. Opening all files is just a little slower. Then you have put up with the updates: the db and the program itself. Then there are the frakkin' messages you have to look at and maybe respond to.

I, like others, finally realized I know enough to self-protect (w/ help of browser addons, https etc) so that I don't need all that noise. If I'm on Windows for any length of time, and for old & slow boxes, I just setup an automatic weekly scan (at night) w/ Malwarebytes--which is also overkill for me, as it never finds anything. You'll know when you get to that point; obviously, some posters in this thread aren't there yet. Otherwise, I agree that an average user should use, say, Avast. Avira has that popup that has to be blocked . Others are also good, I just find these easy to use and am familiar with them.

Edited March 25, 2013 by JSixpack

[draftvader]

Always found antivirus to cause more trouble than it solved.

Back when I used windows I normally relied on common sense to avoid running untrustworthy files.

Autorun on USB drives always disabled.

Backed up by the ability to spot and manually remove the occasional thing that did come along.

Now on linux so the threat is minimal and OS fundamentally much more secure.

Panda USB Vaccine isn't a bad option as well. Even if you aren't infecting them, it's a great way of neutering them.

As for AV, yes you can do without it if you really want to, but there isn't much reason not to on a decent PC when it's free.

Giving up .05% of my performance for A/V is not a hard price compared to the time lost if infected.

Nice precise figure you've arrived at. You could in fact measure it.

Antivirs are hardly any guarantee against infection. If you were infected, you'd have to do a scan with, usually, Malwarebytes or Dr. Web Cureit, to get rid of it. First obstacle would be to get past the virus to download Malwarebytes or get to an online scanner.

I love squashing a virus! It amazes me how stupid some of them are.

It really depends on how much else you have running on your computer and how intrusive is the antivir. If it's checking your email and your browsing as well, then the hit's bigger. And you can't open your download until it's scanned. Opening all files is just a little slower. Then you have put up with the updates: the db and the program itself. Then there are the frakkin' messages you have to look at and maybe respond to.

I, like others, finally realized I know enough to self-protect (w/ help of browser addons, https etc) so that I don't need all that noise. If I'm on Windows for any length of time, and for old & slow boxes, I just setup an automatic weekly scan (at night) w/ Malwarebytes--which is also overkill for me, as it never finds anything. You'll know when you get to that point; obviously, some posters in this thread aren't there yet. Otherwise, I agree that an average user should use, say, Avast. Avira has that popup that has to be blocked . Others are also good, I just find these easy to use and am familiar with them.

Luckily I am running:

ASUS P7P55 EVO

Intel i5 4500k

8 Gb RAM (Win 7 64bit)

Gigabyte 560Ti OC

Caviar black 1Tb (am waiting for enough of a reduction in 250Gb SSD before I move my O/S and apps SSD)

Caviar blue 2Tb

The load on my computer is VERY low. Results given by MisterGroup System Explorer running as my Win Task Manager. I am been tempted to build in dual boot to Ubuntu for dev work, but my system never slows noticeably even for LARGE (i.e. Illustrator 500Mb) image manipulation and really doesn't notice Avast! doing it's thing. I never hear from Avast! because I turned off all the notifications except for actual warnings.

Weird thing is that I can run up to date games max settings and not over heat but if I run Rail Simulator by computer acts like a radiator. Badly coded graphics engine I guess!

Personally I have a busy enough life with my work not to want to play "squash the bug" in my free-time. I am paid by my clients to manage their web presence and I am happy to provide a small amount to somebody else for them to do there job too. I would rather play X-Wing Alliance @ 1920x1080 with DarkSaber's Craft pack Still awesome after all these years.

[balo]

AVG is not your problem , its still one of the fastest AV programs around.

You should check your harddrive instead , is it an old computer ? Try to run a disk repair using chkdsk command. And then run a defragmentation.

I have been using AVG for 7 years , and never had any problems with slow computers. Only if the disk has been damaged , then I buy a new one.

And remember to download the new 2013 free version !

http://download.cnet.com/AVG-AntiVirus-Free-2013/3000-2239_4-10320142.html

Edited March 25, 2013 by balo

[draftvader]

I have no doubt that JSixPack can squash every bug on his system, but his advice to follow his example does not run true for 99.9999% of the users out there in the real world. It would be dangerous (and potentially expensive) for the average user to follow his example and switch off their A/V. I can agree with him that these NEVER offer complete protection as there are new viruses, spyware, etc being written every day, some by hobbyists wanting to have an effect in their lives and others by seriously hard-core individuals earning a nice living by exploiting their knowledge, and we all have to wait a week or so for them to become apparent and the clever types to patch the holes. None-the-less they get patched, you are protected and the window of opportunity for exploitation is narrowed significantly.

The problem will come for JSixPack when he is beaten. The good news is that a person of his technical level will find their system being completely compromised a minor hindrance due to having a multi-state backup routine that will mean that he loses no more than 10-15 minutes of important work and getting back to a full working state will take him his lunch break and will be unattended for the most part.

The average Joe will be looking at presenting their computer to a bunch of cowboys who will make it worse than it ever was for quite a price.

Basically put (recommendations are not mine, but come from Gizmo's Freeware and this advice WILL change regularly), it is advised to review your security policy AT LEAST once a year, but if your system is business critical once a month is more realistic:

Firewall - Windows 7 and up use the built in Windows Firewall for common users or one of the many advised for more intense users I would also suggest Windows 7 firewall for people who have system resource concerns (i.e. 1Gb or less of RAM).

A/V - Avast!

Antispyware - Malwarebytes (JSixPack....we agree )

Computer cleaning software - CCleaner

System backup (Drive Imaging) - Macrium (I personally use Paragon but that is just a legacy thing for me)

Continual data backup - Backup Maker (I use Genie Timeline as it is less "verbose")

Online backup for sensitive data - FreeFileSync (though I prefer Synchredible) with an Online Backup tool (like google drive or Dropbox)

e-mail using IMAP so you don't have to back up (this is assuming you use a local browser client like Thunderbird, Outlook, etc). gmail offers an excellent IMAP service that can be used easily with simple set-up and instructions from google.

Please DON'T trust the free software your computer came with. Norton and McAfee have not been good for a LONG time and are the WORST system resource hogs on earth. Something that JSixPack, Chicog and I will all happily agree on.

Find your path, USE IT and review it regularly. Chance it and it will be TOO LATE.

Edited March 25, 2013 by draftvader

[lopburi3]

Following is my 3 day experience with Bitdefender free A/V - has not found anything so that is good - never more than one hour between updates from what I can see. Daily makes a quick scan of about 1,300 files in about 1.5 minutes. On first day of use made a full scan in 2:43 with actual scan time of 1:18 for 424,500 files. Could hear the HD but no slowdown and as I used computer it would pause the scan. So far acting very well indeed.

[cdnvic]

Every time I clean a customer's infected computer, it was usually AVG "protecting" it.

[draftvader]

Following is my 3 day experience with Bitdefender free A/V - has not found anything so that is good - never more than one hour between updates from what I can see. Daily makes a quick scan of about 1,300 files in about 1.5 minutes. On first day of use made a full scan in 2:43 with actual scan time of 1:18 for 424,500 files. Could hear the HD but no slowdown and as I used computer it would pause the scan. So far acting very well indeed.

Good to see somebody trying another option for us. There are a number of discussions about Bitdefender I have found:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/freeware-forum/security/11018-bitdefender-antivirus-free-edition.html

http://malwaretips.com/Thread-Bit-Defender-AV-Free-now-in-english

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=338408

It does look like one to consider for my next review. Thanks.

[Chicog]

I have no doubt that JSixPack can squash every bug on his system, but his advice to follow his example does not run true for 99.9999% of the users out there in the real world.

<SNIP>

Good and informative post, although I would add, like JSP, that you need to include some browser protection as well.

And bin Java.

[JSixpack]

I have no doubt that JSixPack can squash every bug on his system, but his advice to follow his example does not run true for 99.9999% of the users out there in the real world. It would be dangerous (and potentially expensive) for the average user to follow his example and switch off their A/V. I can agree with him that these NEVER offer complete protection as there are new viruses, spyware, etc being written every day, some by hobbyists wanting to have an effect in their lives and others by seriously hard-core individuals earning a nice living by exploiting their knowledge, and we all have to wait a week or so for them to become apparent and the clever types to patch the holes. None-the-less they get patched, you are protected and the window of opportunity for exploitation is narrowed significantly.

The problem will come for JSixPack when he is beaten. The good news is that a person of his technical level will find their system being completely compromised a minor hindrance due to having a multi-state backup routine that will mean that he loses no more than 10-15 minutes of important work and getting back to a full working state will take him his lunch break and will be unattended for the most part.

The average Joe will be looking at presenting their computer to a bunch of cowboys who will make it worse than it ever was for quite a price.

Basically put (recommendations are not mine, but come from Gizmo's Freeware and this advice WILL change regularly), it is advised to review your security policy AT LEAST once a year, but if your system is business critical once a month is more realistic:

Firewall - Windows 7 and up use the built in Windows Firewall for common users or one of the many advised for more intense users I would also suggest Windows 7 firewall for people who have system resource concerns (i.e. 1Gb or less of RAM).

A/V - Avast!

Antispyware - Malwarebytes (JSixPack....we agree )

Computer cleaning software - CCleaner

System backup (Drive Imaging) - Macrium (I personally use Paragon but that is just a legacy thing for me)

Continual data backup - Backup Maker (I use Genie Timeline as it is less "verbose")

Online backup for sensitive data - FreeFileSync (though I prefer Synchredible) with an Online Backup tool (like google drive or Dropbox)

e-mail using IMAP so you don't have to back up (this is assuming you use a local browser client like Thunderbird, Outlook, etc). gmail offers an excellent IMAP service that can be used easily with simple set-up and instructions from google.

Please DON'T trust the free software your computer came with. Norton and McAfee have not been good for a LONG time and are the WORST system resource hogs on earth. Something that JSixPack, Chicog and I will all happily agree on.

Find your path, USE IT and review it regularly. Chance it and it will be TOO LATE.

I haven't had the chance to squash a virus on my own system in many years. Now w/ Linux the chance may not come, but never say never, eh. I do have Clam on-demand scanner handy just in case. Reminds me, I should update that.

It's on other folks' systems, always running an antivirus, I get to enjoy squashing. It's often a result of the ol' PEBKAC. Users will click where they shouldn't, like on an ad to install fake anti-spyware. And surfing porn sites usually leads to one problem or another, clicking on links in spam emails, etc. Typical stuff.

I suppose if they didn't have their antivir, things would have been worse and even sooner, true. I remember a case of a user who had finally learned, after much experience, how he kept getting viruses and so how he could avoid them--on his slow antique of a machine. I did feel comfortable then setting him up on the weekly scan system after otherwise beefing up his security. Been doing fine for over a year now. But that's an exception.

In a remarkable number of cases, just a simple restore of the registry, previously backed up automatically via the ERUNT utility, will get an infected system booting again for cleaning up. I image my systems against a disk crash, mainly.

If you're interested in an excellent comprehensive security plan, I might suggest Bear's:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14Hh-sPdQMwmxj9-VWG6lbpZfqrIjl9Kn024jegcWw_w/edit?pli=1

There's a bit of overlap w/ what's been said here but he hits a lot of additional points.

He also has some good recommendations on his freeware site, http://bearware.info/. And even a diet plan!

[draftvader]

I have no doubt that JSixPack can squash every bug on his system, but his advice to follow his example does not run true for 99.9999% of the users out there in the real world.

<SNIP>

Good and informative post, although I would add, like JSP, that you need to include some browser protection as well.

And bin Java.

Comodo Free Firewall does provide some browser protection with the firewall. Not a lot, but enough to stop script injection and the like. If you can advise on some additional browser protection then please do. This thread can turn out really useful if we can provide some good advice for less IT literate users out there.

I think that binning Java is where we met first a few months ago!

[draftvader]

I have no doubt that JSixPack can squash every bug on his system, but his advice to follow his example does not run true for 99.9999% of the users out there in the real world. It would be dangerous (and potentially expensive) for the average user to follow his example and switch off their A/V. I can agree with him that these NEVER offer complete protection as there are new viruses, spyware, etc being written every day, some by hobbyists wanting to have an effect in their lives and others by seriously hard-core individuals earning a nice living by exploiting their knowledge, and we all have to wait a week or so for them to become apparent and the clever types to patch the holes. None-the-less they get patched, you are protected and the window of opportunity for exploitation is narrowed significantly.

The problem will come for JSixPack when he is beaten. The good news is that a person of his technical level will find their system being completely compromised a minor hindrance due to having a multi-state backup routine that will mean that he loses no more than 10-15 minutes of important work and getting back to a full working state will take him his lunch break and will be unattended for the most part.

The average Joe will be looking at presenting their computer to a bunch of cowboys who will make it worse than it ever was for quite a price.

Basically put (recommendations are not mine, but come from Gizmo's Freeware and this advice WILL change regularly), it is advised to review your security policy AT LEAST once a year, but if your system is business critical once a month is more realistic:

Firewall - Windows 7 and up use the built in Windows Firewall for common users or one of the many advised for more intense users I would also suggest Windows 7 firewall for people who have system resource concerns (i.e. 1Gb or less of RAM).

A/V - Avast!

Antispyware - Malwarebytes (JSixPack....we agree )

Computer cleaning software - CCleaner

System backup (Drive Imaging) - Macrium (I personally use Paragon but that is just a legacy thing for me)

Continual data backup - Backup Maker (I use Genie Timeline as it is less "verbose")

Online backup for sensitive data - FreeFileSync (though I prefer Synchredible) with an Online Backup tool (like google drive or Dropbox)

e-mail using IMAP so you don't have to back up (this is assuming you use a local browser client like Thunderbird, Outlook, etc). gmail offers an excellent IMAP service that can be used easily with simple set-up and instructions from google.

Please DON'T trust the free software your computer came with. Norton and McAfee have not been good for a LONG time and are the WORST system resource hogs on earth. Something that JSixPack, Chicog and I will all happily agree on.

Find your path, USE IT and review it regularly. Chance it and it will be TOO LATE.

I haven't had the chance to squash a virus on my own system in many years. Now w/ Linux the chance may not come, but never say never, eh. I do have Clam on-demand scanner handy just in case. Reminds me, I should update that.

It's on other folks' systems, always running an antivirus, I get to enjoy squashing. It's often a result of the ol' PEBKAC. Users will click where they shouldn't, like on an ad to install fake anti-spyware. And surfing porn sites usually leads to one problem or another, clicking on links in spam emails, etc. Typical stuff.

I suppose if they didn't have their antivir, things would have been worse and even sooner, true. I remember a case of a user who had finally learned, after much experience, how he kept getting viruses and so how he could avoid them--on his slow antique of a machine. I did feel comfortable then setting him up on the weekly scan system after otherwise beefing up his security. Been doing fine for over a year now. But that's an exception.

In a remarkable number of cases, just a simple restore of the registry, previously backed up automatically via the ERUNT utility, will get an infected system booting again for cleaning up. I image my systems against a disk crash, mainly.

If you're interested in an excellent comprehensive security plan, I might suggest Bear's:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14Hh-sPdQMwmxj9-VWG6lbpZfqrIjl9Kn024jegcWw_w/edit?pli=1

There's a bit of overlap w/ what's been said here but he hits a lot of additional points.

He also has some good recommendations on his freeware site, http://bearware.info/. And even a diet plan!

How do you know I'm overweight!

[draftvader]

For those that don't know - PEBKAC (Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair).

Bang on. Leave a computer to sit on its own and nothing will happen....it won't even get switched on! My Mum has a computer. This is the bane of my life. She likes to think she is pretty knowledgeable. I keep telling her that IT skills are learnt, not absorbed by osmosis! My monthly TightVNC sessions do what they can!

[JSixpack]

Luckily I am running:

ASUS P7P55 EVO

Intel i5 4500k

8 Gb RAM (Win 7 64bit)

Gigabyte 560Ti OC

Caviar black 1Tb (am waiting for enough of a reduction in 250Gb SSD before I move my O/S and apps SSD)

Caviar blue 2Tb

This is a large e-penis indeed (though some members can boast larger), hence . . .

I am been tempted to build in dual boot to Ubuntu for dev work

Consider, with such an e-penis, running, say, Linux Mint Xfce in virtualbox (rather than dual boot). Normally I'd say run Win in vbox--as I do when I must have a Win-only app--but gaming seems so important to you (games don't run well under vbox, unfortunately). Still, you can get some games running under Linux Wine if not natively (goodly number of Steam games out there now that Steam has been ported). Here's an account of getting X-Wing Alliance running:

http://fatedtoend.com/content/my-insane-methods-getting-star-wars-x-wing-alliance-working-correctly-wine-ubuntu-1104-natty

My main point is to move virus-susceptible apps, such as browsing and email, over to Linux (and finally most other stuff) and use only the necessary-for-survival Windows-only apps under Windows.

But more. With Windows, you have not only to worry about virii interrupting your customer support: you have to worry about hangs and crashes. Yeah, I know: your Windows has never hung or crashed that you've noticed. Linux is by no means totally hang or crashproof, but I gotta say--and I'm nobody's fanboy--once it's set up and happy (which may require some patience), it's generally more stable than Windows and seems to handle the multitasking a lot more smoothly. I worry about it SO much less than I did about Windows.

Edited March 25, 2013 by JSixpack

[rawhod]

JSixPack & Chicog You both know that you are both right. The problem with modern IT isn't the adapting and growing world it is the people entering that world. When I started my IT career the publicly available internet was in its infancy.

When I started mine it wasn't even publicly available.

My Dad programmed BASIC, COBOL and punch-cards! Not much need for that now!

This is where I started...

[draftvader]

Luckily I am running:

ASUS P7P55 EVO

Intel i5 4500k

8 Gb RAM (Win 7 64bit)

Gigabyte 560Ti OC

Caviar black 1Tb (am waiting for enough of a reduction in 250Gb SSD before I move my O/S and apps SSD)

Caviar blue 2Tb

This is a large e-penis indeed (though some members can boast larger), hence . . .

>I am been tempted to build in dual boot to Ubuntu for dev work

Consider, with such an e-penis, running, say, Linux Mint Xfce in virtualbox (rather than dual boot). Normally I'd say run Win in vbox--as I do when I must have a Win-only app--but gaming seems so important to you (games don't run well under vbox, unfortunately). Still, you can get some games running under Linux Wine if not natively (goodly number of Steam games out there now that Steam has been ported). Here's an account of getting X-Wing Alliance running:

http://fatedtoend.com/content/my-insane-methods-getting-star-wars-x-wing-alliance-working-correctly-wine-ubuntu-1104-natty

My main point is to move virus-susceptible apps, such as browsing and email, over to Linux (and finally most other stuff) and use only the necessary-for-survival Windows-only apps under Windows.

But more. With Windows, you have not only to worry about virii interrupting your customer support: you have to worry about hangs and crashes. Yeah, I know: your Windows has never hung or crashed that you've noticed. Linux is by no means totally hang or crashproof, but I gotta say--and I'm nobody's fanboy--once it's set up and happy (which may require some patience), it's generally more stable than Windows and seems to handle the multitasking a lot more smoothly. I worry about it SO much less than I did about Windows.

My e-penis has an actual value to me. I can say that, in the 2 years that I have been running this system, I have certainly covered its cost with productivity. This very probably happened in the 1st year, but being that my customers aren't asking for answers to that question and I know that this is true just from the 20 mins to 1 hour a day I save when working on large images I really don't need to do my figures to prove it.

JSixPack. Throughout this thread, and every other thread I post alongside you in, I notice that you resort to sniping people who might have similar levels of knowledge to you (I suspect that you have a little more knowledge than me in some areas that matter to me...php, for example). You most certainly have a strong knowledge set in many areas, but you are not perfect at everything. I like to be aware of my weaknesses and try to give my opinion with an indication to my level of confidence. Please can you carry on providing us with useful information without sniping.

The only reason I gave my specs is because you challenged me as to how I got such an accurate figure for the load that Avast! puts on my system. My specs, understandably, form a part of that answer. If this answer makes you feel a little less secure then do the positive thing, learn from it and make the modifications to your life to allow you to accept that. I am WELL aware of the level of my system. I only have 1Gb of VRAM and I chose the i5 rather than i7 as I felt that the extra costs did not provide much more in processing/cost for my needs. There really are some AMAZING systems out there. With the money saved I built a dedicated AMD system running XBMC for my family. They LOVE IT (and more importantly can use it without blowing up the house).

To your point. Yes, Linux IS a better platform for development work. It IS more secure by nature. For me, however, offering a complete web and IT solution to small businesses I need to be aware of what problems can arise with my customers systems and need a platform from which to emulate to help me understand their issues better. Running Linux in a VM is a VERY good suggestion, but with the power of my machine and the fact that I have not had a virus, malware or spyware issue in MANY years (can't be too sure, but confident it is over 6 years...think it was on a Sony Vaio T-Series that I used when travelling the world) I really don't gain too much from doing this. I could, knowledge wise, work on Linux as I use Notepad++ for all my coding now (I have some respect for Dreamweaver for teaching me...good and bad) and run XAMPP with Firefox (Firebug+addons). This is the common dev environment for most people working with Joomla! in a more "involved" manner.

I really do look forward to your opinions as I learn from you. Please could you do it without the sniping. Thank you.

[draftvader]

JSixPack & Chicog You both know that you are both right. The problem with modern IT isn't the adapting and growing world it is the people entering that world. When I started my IT career the publicly available internet was in its infancy.

When I started mine it wasn't even publicly available.

My Dad programmed BASIC, COBOL and punch-cards! Not much need for that now!

This is where I started...

Two drives....RAID! Remember "Defender"?

[Chicog]

I have no doubt that JSixPack can squash every bug on his system, but his advice to follow his example does not run true for 99.9999% of the users out there in the real world.

<SNIP>

Good and informative post, although I would add, like JSP, that you need to include some browser protection as well.

And bin Java.

Comodo Free Firewall does provide some browser protection with the firewall. Not a lot, but enough to stop script injection and the like. If you can advise on some additional browser protection then please do. This thread can turn out really useful if we can provide some good advice for less IT literate users out there.

I think that binning Java is where we met first a few months ago!

Depends on your Browser, but things like WOT mentioned in the article from JSP are always a good call.

In IE10, SmartScreen doesn't do a bad job.

I'd recommend this for everyone:

https://browsercheck.qualys.com/

[Chicog]

Going back the the OP, this is from today's digest of one of the newsletters I receive:

Acrobat does seem to pop up now and then
with AVG, I’ve also had issues with a Remote Desktop DLL (launched via
svchost.exe) being flagged as a virus.

From:

Sent: 25 March 2013 13:57
Subject: RE: AVG False Alarm

I also saw this on our network
this morning. Same versions.

We’ve been seeing quite a
few false positives the last couple of weeks. Adobe, Xilinx, and Cadstar
software have all been flagged.

Sent: Monday, March 25, 2013 5:22 AM

Subject: AVG False Alarm

It looks like AVG is flagging a DLL without Acrobat 9
as a virus (there’s a nice sense of justice in that

This message popped up on my PC when I logged on this
morning and I’ve had one other user report it so far. It seems to affects
Reader and Acrobat Standard 9, not sure about newer versions though.

Chances are the false positive will be fixed by AVG by
the time you see this email, but it’s something to look out for.

Oh and we’re using AVG Business Edition 2012.

[draftvader]

I have no doubt that JSixPack can squash every bug on his system, but his advice to follow his example does not run true for 99.9999% of the users out there in the real world.

<SNIP>

Good and informative post, although I would add, like JSP, that you need to include some browser protection as well.

And bin Java.

Comodo Free Firewall does provide some browser protection with the firewall. Not a lot, but enough to stop script injection and the like. If you can advise on some additional browser protection then please do. This thread can turn out really useful if we can provide some good advice for less IT literate users out there.

I think that binning Java is where we met first a few months ago!

Depends on your Browser, but things like WOT mentioned in the article from JSP are always a good call.

In IE10, SmartScreen doesn't do a bad job.

I'd recommend this for everyone:

https://browsercheck.qualys.com/

Nice one. It found that I still had Quicktime installed. That's gone now!

[JSixpack]

JSixPack. Throughout this thread, and every other thread I post alongside you in, I notice that you resort to sniping people who might have similar levels of knowledge to you

Ah, well, don't take me (or yourself) so seriously. As you can see from the relatively detailed and RELATIVELY knowledgeable response, I was really, sincerely just trying to be helpful--as I most always do, with a smile along the way (cf. member Naam); it's so tedious going thru these various threads . . . . I only get mean when there's misinformation being promulgated and repeated. I think.

Edited March 27, 2013 by JSixpack

[JSixpack]

Post on lifehacker today about best antivirs--for Win. Our favorite comes in first:

http://lifehacker.com/5865356/the-best-antivirus-app-for-windows

Edited March 27, 2013 by JSixpack

[lopburi3]

Follow-up on Bitdefender free AV installed on Windows 7 on March 22 - all good until today but frequent 'threat scan error file please send' requests today and a restart of computer got another and then not working alert so have returned to Microsoft Security Essentials.

No issues with removal and no problem with re-install of MSE or any threats found in scan.